Talbot Lago wheels

At last the Talbot Lago wheels are making progress!

Delays are still holding up production wheels, but now as well as the first prototype set to 'prove' the etches and determine dimensions, a pre-production set has been (almost) completed and from a head on view appear exactly as the production wheels with the exception of the early wheel nut, where an improved version is being made.

The Talbot Lago was made at the time when the large 18" wheels on GP cars were fast disappearing, even 17" swiftly gave way to 16" by the mid-fifties.

I'm pretty sure the Talbot wheels were made by Borrani.

The model wheels are a fair representation of the originals, or to be exact, of one of the originals. Most cars seem to have had the side/centre laced spoke arrangement on the front wheels and the centre laced set up on the rather wider rears, though some had centre/side for front and rear and others had centre laced all round. The spokes as ever are made in 0.006" stainless steel, heat treated and then formed into the conical shape as per original.

The lightened brake drums are again stainless etchings and since I found one picture of a car with drums having 8 holes rather than the standard 6, I've had some of those made too.

The last wheel in progress is for the Alfetta 158/9, the rear of which will be similar but slightly different to the Talbot rear, whilst the front wheel will be a narrower version of the same.

Peter